Black Celebration
by surestsmile
Summary: It is utter mayhem, and it's not the kind of grieving Ryohei's used to. TYL!arc


Disclaimer: I do not own _Katekyo Hitman Reborn!_.

Black Celebration

The news of Colonello's and Mammon's deaths is altogether too sudden and too shocking. Ryohei does not profess to know the tiny Varia, but Lussuria speaks well enough of him when he's not whining about how hard it takes to extract allowance from the chibi's greedy fists. Shisou was less charitable in talking about Mammon, but if what has been communicated is true... then Colonello had not harboured any true ill feelings towards the mist baby in the end.

He does not know if the Varia will mourn. There is little time left just to breathe, to recover from Millefiore's relentless attacks, and mourning is probably more of a luxury than a need at this moment. Still, Ryohei finds himself debating on whether to withdraw from that night's debriefing, to nurse the sudden gaping wound in his life. It is selfish and stupid and _fucking weak_, but for once Ryohei thinks he will not care what Xanxus has to say about it.

Except he goes anyway, because shisou always said that there was a time for anything and everything, and even if shisou is d-_dead_ they are still his words, still to be obeyed. He is surprised when Squalo slams bottles of wine down on the table instead of reports, and Belphegor brings glasses from out of nowhere, clinking between his scarred fingers.

"To Mammon," Xanxus grunts, and amidst the sudden rising howl of voices Ryohei adds his own and toasts to the air before carelessly drinking his first glass of red French wine, taken from Lussuria's fingertips. The liquid burns in his stomach, and somehow Ryohei knows that it is a good thing that he had decided to come instead of holing up in his room.

They tell stories, garbled mission logs and slurred daily life exchanges. Some of these tales Ryohei recognises, having been a constant go-between from the Vongola to Varia for years now, and privy to some of their secrets and their lives. At first he is content simply to be a guest, an invited observer, but Belphegor breaks his silence by regaling a memory of Mammon just after the Rings battle, laughing about how the baby had thrown fit after epic fit about the other arcobalenos. There is the usual laughter and agreement, and then Leviathan looks to Ryohei and says, "So, what can you tell us about the other baby that tormented Mammon so much? He's your master, right?"

The words come forth so easily, that Ryohei half-believes that it's someone else who's speaking. "He was EXTREME TO THE LIMIT," he declares, "Taught me everything I knew, and then some. Says I didn't have to call him shisou no more but-" He's rambling, but nobody stops him. "And I will miss him! TO THE EXTREME." Ryohei finally finishes saying, and the ensuing silence makes him wonder if he just said something he shouldn't have. From across him Squalo opens his mouth, but before anything comes out Xanxus flings an empty glass at him, prompting an outraged, "What the fuck was that foooooooooooor!"

But all eyes are really on Xanxus, and Xanxus' red eyes pierces into him, and he gives a lazy smirk. "To Colonello, then," the Varia leader says, and all hell lets loose again. "To Mammon and Colonello!" Belphegor shrieks, "Crazy magical babies who never grew up even in ten years!" And Ryohei says, quietly, for once, "To Colonello."

Ryohei accepts Squalo's indignant drinking challenge to make up for the glass-to-head while Lussuria and Bel cheers them on, while Leviathan offers more wine to Xanxus. It is utter mayhem, and it is definitely not the kind of grieving that Ryohei's used to. It's more like a celebration, a tribute to life lived and life lost, and Ryohei thinks for a moment, _Shisou would have loved it this way,_ and knocks back another drink.

Tomorrow he will wake up with an extremely atrocious hangover and the feeling that it should be just a bad dream when it's not, and Lussuria will turn up with hangover pills and water for everyone, like he always does.

Tomorrow they will avenge the deaths of the family with Millefiore blood. Tomorrow Xanxus and Leviathan will formulate new strategies, and Ryohei and Lussuria will try to strengthen the weakening ties between remaining allies. Tomorrow, Squalo and Belphegor will continue to source for information, one by brute force, the other by technology.

But tonight...tonight, they grieve, and they celebrate.


End file.
